From the Desk—Back to School 2023: 5 Things to Look Out for in Illinois Education and Care
From early childhood through higher education, this past year was a big year in Illinois education. First, the FY24 budget represents historic investment in our birth-to-20 education system. While we did not get everything we asked for, across early childhood education and care, K-12, and post-secondary the General Assembly delivered over $1 billion in new education funding. That is a powerful investment in our state’s future! New legislation was signed that expanded access, strengthened student and educator supports, and advanced equity in our education system. Some highlights include implementation of key elements of the state’s Whole Child Task Force recommendations, expansion of full-day kindergarten to all districts in the next three years, additional increases to MAP, and efforts to smooth the transition from 2- to 4-year institutions.
As we now pivot to look at the year ahead, there are a few issues and activities that could prove monumental for Illinois. Here are five things to watch for in Illinois education this year:
1. A road map for adequate, equitable, and sustainable funding for Illinois’ 4-year public universities.
The data is clear: post-secondary degrees matter and have a direct impact on an individual's future earnings and our state's economy. Yet, in Illinois, we both underfund and inequitably fund higher education. This pattern has pushed college out of financial reach for many families and driven down overall enrollment, especially for students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education. While recent reinvestments have made some progress, we still have no clear idea how much a degree should cost, and no real system for ensuring that state dollars follow student and institutional need. Indeed, the current system largely consists of individual institutions pleading their case to the General Assembly. But the stage is set for serious change-- soon, the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding is set to release a set of comprehensive recommendations that we expect to include specific data-driven criteria and approaches to adequately, equitably, and stably fund public universities in Illinois. If adopted, this would be a game changer for Illinois, setting us up to be a national leader in ensuring institutions of higher education have sufficient funding and resources to support all students, especially students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students, to enroll, persist, and graduate. As the country considers the implications of the Supreme Court decision this summer to curtail the use of race in college admissions, it is vital that our state continue to champion policies that center the needs of students who have been historically marginalized, and those who we demonstrably need to serve better.
2. Actions to address and mitigate the impact of the federal stimulus cliff.
As a state, Illinois has, across sectors, received over $107 billion in federal pandemic relief since March 2020, with $8 billion of that going to Illinois schools to and through this school year. These funds have been a lifeline for students, families, schools and communities, providing vital supports and resources to respond to immediate pandemic-related needs, and to support longer-term recovery and renewal. While some funds have already started to expire, this is the last full school year in which education-related pandemic relief dollars will be available, leaving state agencies and school districts with difficult decisions to make regarding what programs, services, and positions to continue or cut. As we prepare for these challenging conversations, let us work hard to a) use data to inform decision-making, b) listen to students and families about what’s working and what is needed, and c) ensure there is transparency and public dialogue around the process. Learning renewal is ongoing—and we cannot expect to simply and easily cut all the work being funded with federal stimulus dollars. Instead, we must carefully and strategically consider what is right for Illinois students, what will support them adequately and equitably, and where it is appropriate to find state or local dollars to keep programs going.
3. Efforts to mitigate the impact of short-term fluctuations in tax revenues on Evidence-Based Funding.
In six of the last seven years, the General Assembly has approved increases to the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula—investing more than $1.8 billion in new tier funding overall. These investments, combined with growth in local resources, have helped dramatically reduce the number of students attending severely underfunded school districts in Illinois.1 However, some of this progress may be short-lived. In recent years, one district revenue source, the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT), has significantly, but temporarily increased, driven largely by reductions in tax exemptions, influxes in federal stimulus dollars and increased spending during the pandemic. This increase in CPPRT revenue is providing a momentary bump to adequacy for many districts -- making our system appear much better funded than it was a year ago. While it is terrific for districts to receive these funds in the short term, it seems clear that the revenue increase is temporary. Indeed, K-12 districts are expected to see a total of $660 million fewer dollars coming from this funding source in FY24. However, because EBF calculations use lagging data, FY24 EBF data does not accurately reflect the real drops in resources that districts are feeling right now, or our state’s actual overall gap to full funding.
Meanwhile, even with the temporary gains we are seeing in FY24 adequacy, most of the state’s students—more than 1.3 million children— are still in underfunded districts (below 90% of full funding). We need to make good on having missed a year of increased funding during the pandemic, mitigate the impact of declining CPPRT revenue, help districts manage inflationary costs, and commit to growing EBF investments to make sure we’re on a path to ensure every student enrolled at an Illinois public K-12 school can access a quality education.
4. New information about the impact of the pandemic on the educator pipeline.
More and more data are becoming available on the impact the pandemic has had on students and schools. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, there has been much discussion, but limited data shared, about the anticipated impact of this event on the educator workforce. This fall, Advance Illinois will release a report that takes a look at the full breadth and diversity of our educator pipeline, addressing topics from recruitment and supply of new educators, to retention of veteran teachers and leaders. The aim of this report is to explore the early impact of the pandemic, unpack areas where the state has made progress, and highlight what challenges and considerations should be top of mind as the state moves forward. Following this report, ISBE will release additional data this year in its annual State Report Card and its Educator Supply and Demand Report. Lots to look forward to - stay tuned!
5. Further progress in creating a more equitable and effective system of early childhood education and care.
In Illinois, as well as throughout the nation, access to essential, high-quality programs and services for young children remains out of reach for many families. State funding and allocation of limited early childhood education and care dollars has resulted in a patchwork quilt of programming and supports. The direct impact of this can be seen in statewide kindergarten readiness data: As the most recent data suggests, less than a third of incoming kindergartners entered school fully prepared. One of the major barriers is the complex way the state administers early childhood programs, a governance structure that spans three different agencies and creates a system that is hard for providers and families to navigate. We commend the state for its recent efforts, and its investments to strengthen and expand Illinois’ Birth-5 system. With recommendations from the Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding laying a path forward for the system, and year one of Illinois’ Smart Start program making deeply needed investments, we see a lot of promise and opportunity ahead. As state leaders and advocates champion and invest additional resources and pilot new, more strategic and equitable ways for distributing funding, the time is now to prioritize growing and stabilizing the workforce and rethinking governance so we can better align programs, resources, and policies. Moving to a single agency will provide greater coherence and accountability for the state and is good for children, families, providers, and schools.
Illinois has much to be proud of and celebrate, but we cannot rest. Looking ahead, there is more to do. We must work together to address challenges and opportunities and make Illinois a stronger, better state for the children and students who depend on us.